This past month of June saw many areas of the planet inundated with downpours of all shapes and sizes; from violent hailstorms and thunderstorms in parts of Asia (some of them carrying fish, shrimp and octopuses) and Europe, to an amazing mix of hurricane like winds, heavy rain, and floods in the US, Mexico and parts of South America.

Volcanic activity continues to break records around the BBM. The Kilauea volcano continued to wreak havoc on the big island of Hawaii, destroying houses and engulfing the area with toxic fumes. Meanwhile, after years of continued activity, Guatemala's Fire volcano erupted violently, causing the deaths of at least 109 people. Hundreds are still missing and entire towns were covered with meters of ash.

Other than the spectacular nature of these eruptions, the important point to remember is that all that ash saturates the upper layers of the atmosphere reflecting solar rays and promoting water condensation and ice formation. This of course is not good news given the current solar minimum.

It's quite possible that, as we move forward, global temperatures will continue to plummet, and given the massive amounts of water pouring down, next winter may well be a rough ride for many in the Northern Hemisphere.

Speaking of cold temperatures, unseasonable snow continued to make headlines even during late spring and the beginning of summer across both Northern and Southern climes. The cold snaps hit the US, Canada, Chile, Australia, Ukraine and Austria; surprising the population, and damaging crops.

Increasingly strong hailstorms and bigger hail stones have also been reported all over the world. The US, Greece, Italy, Serbia, India and Russia were the most affected this month.